‘Success Goes Sour’ for Coach

We at John Marshall High School remain proud of David Tokofsky and our Academic Decathlon team’s success as we start a new school year. Therefore, it was with great shock that I read the article “Success Goes Sour,” (Metro, Sept. 22). To us at Marshall, the success is every bit as sweet.

The $1,000 which he received at $20 for 50 hours and the additional $1,000 which he received after winning the state competition in no way compensated for the over $7,500 of his $21,000 salary which he spent subsidizing the decathlon by purchasing books, other research resources and countless dinners for the 11 team members when they worked late.

It in no way compensated him for the more than 1,000 hours spent after school, on Saturdays and Sundays and during vacations that he and the team worked preparing for the city, state and national Academic Decathlons.

It is not true that he refused to go to Washington unless there was an opportunity to see the President. He wanted the team to have the experience of visiting our national capital.

The district and decathlon officials wanted 50% of any movie or television money. Tokofsky felt that he and the team had done the hard work and it was only fair that they should profit from their story, not the district and decathlon bureaucracy.

If he were interested in monetary rewards, his brilliance and fortitude would enable him to achieve this in the business world. But he is an independent and highly idealistic teacher who is committed to democratic ideals. He has a passion for education in its highest and truest sense. As coach of the decathlon team he inspired the decathlon members to achieve the success that brought honor to our school and district. As a classroom teacher he is now doing in the classroom what he does best--stimulating and inspiring his students and teaching them to think.

ELAINE QUAN

Librarian

John Marshall High School